A Strange Question

[Psychisfun43]

I am starting graduate school in Clinical Psychology this fall. In Undergrad, I focused on Psychology and Philosophy as I was a double major. My focus was in Psychology was Neuro as I find the biological basis of behavior extremely fascinating. My focus in Philosophy was in Ontology as I wrote my senior thesis on Phenomenological experiences of adults with Depression. A lot of the philosophy and books I read dive heavily into the ontology of human existence which has been directly related to my interest in clinical psychology.

My question is that do graduate programs as a necessity ignore the relationship between the human condition and Clinical Psychology (I don't know if I asked the question the right way) Is it because the training has to be fundamentally structured? I spoke with a couple of psychologists/psychiatrists who have the same interests as I. They told me that much of their ontological learning had to be done on their own time as science, in of itself, has to be narrow and structured due to the nature of the training. For example, understanding the phenomenology of mental phenomena in regards to mental illness and more ontological based formations of mental illness.

I also wanted to hear other people's thoughts and if you have similar interests as I do. Did you have to supplement your education to answer questions which couldn't be explained in class for various reasons? Thank you for reading.

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[Justanothergrad]

Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (Division 24)

Although not what you're asking exactly, this seems like it may be of interest.

 

[Psychisfun43]

Society for Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology (Division 24)

Although not what you're asking exactly, this seems like it may be of interest.

Thanks! Ill definitely look into it.

 

[smalltownpsych]

My own interest in psychology started from the phenomelogical and experiential. During the course of my education and training, I had to narrow my scope a bit to soak up the data and really understand the basics underpinnings of human functioning. As I continue to practice, this starts to shift again to the more existential questions that we all face. My general thought on this is that it is important for a clinician to be firmly grounded in the science before soaring into the more esoteric aspects of existence.

 

[Psychisfun43]

Thanks for the suggestions!